Hot Topics by Susan J. Ellis

Susan J. Ellis began writing a monthly "Hot Topic" article on volunteerism in 1997 and continued for the next 23 years! The hot topic was available on her website and was always thought provoking and timely, sparking many discussions among leaders of volunteer engagement. In addition to providing a glimpse at several major events and trends during those decades, a majority of these articles are still very relevant to practitioners today.

1997

Is the Challenge Recruiting Citizens to Volunteer or Making Sure Agencies Are Ready for Volunteers? April
A Proposal for Five Additional Goals after the Summit May
Why Is It Labor Unions vs. Volunteers? June
Is Volunteer Management Really a Profession? July
Volunteers as the "Third Branch" of an Organization August
What's Gender Got to Do with It? September
Redirecting Corporate Volunteering October
Global Connections - International Volunteerism November
The Holiday Season: Going Beyond "Feel-Good" Volunteering December

1998

Let's All Resolve... January
Give Volunteers a Voice February
Some Nagging Questions... March
The Presidents' Summit One Year Later April
Reaching Out to International Visitors May
Turbulence at the State Level June
Let's Commit to International Exchange July
Reinventing Conferences September
The Limits of the "V" Word October
The Giving of Thanks November
What's the Mystery about Motivation? December

1999

If the Whole World is Changing, Can Volunteerism Stay the Same? January
The Just-a-Volunteer Syndrome February
The Money Factor in Volunteer Management March
Lessening Social Exclusion through Volunteering April
Staff Resistance and Highly-Skilled Volunteers May
Volunteer Managers and the Time Management Trap June
Mystifying Data: Can America's Promise Get Away with It? July
The Wall of Executive Indifference August
Trend Watch: Are You Ready? September
Philanthropy, Civic Engagement, and the Lessons of Volunteering October
Statistics, Bikinis and Volunteers: The New Independent Sector Study on Giving and Volunteering November
Once in a Millennium Opportunity December

2000

Wishes and Resolves for the New Year January
Volunteering in For-Profit Settings: Exploitation or Value Added? February
Warning! We're about to Waste an Opportunity! March
Some Truths Revealed about Nametags April
Mixed Messages: What Do We Really Think about Young Volunteers? May
Enough Formal Banquets! Let's Transform Recognition Events June
The Volunteer Generation Gap July
If Not Your Home Page, Then Where? August
Be Careful What We Wish For! The Cost-Benefit Analysis of Volunteering September
A Proposal for IYV2001: The Look Back to Look Ahead Project October
Unskilled vs. Differently Skilled: Maximize Volunteer Differences November
On Being a Dream-Catcher December

2001

Who is Celebrating IYV? Connecting the "Streams of Service" January
"Youth Involvement" in Our Field February
Purity and Reality: For-Profit Consulting in Volunteerism March
National Volunteer Week: Does Anyone Care? April
Money is No Object May
When a Volunteer Transforms into an Employee June
Faith-Based Initiatives: What Might This Mean? July
Evaluating by Comparisons: Watch Out for the Traps! August
Advocacy for Volunteer Involvement: The Role of Funders September
A Volunteerism Perspective on the Days after the 11th of September October
Tackling Causes Not Symptoms: New/Old Roles for Volunteers November
It's Time to Start Counting Volunteers Seriously December

2002

Moving on from 2001 January
Mixed Messages from Government: Lessons from Minnesota February
The World According to Volunteer Experience March
Don't Call Me a 'Senior'! April
Spring Cleaning: Take a Fresh Look at Your Volunteer Program May
Reacting to the Critics June
What's Hot, What's Not July
The Missing Link: Where are Volunteers at the National Level? August
A Medal for Volunteer Service - How to Measure Success? September
The Great Divide: Leaders Who Are Paid and Leaders Who Are Volunteers October
A Utopian View of Volunteerism Professional Organizations November
United Way is Not the Way for Volunteer Centers December

2003

The Hot Topic Is the Hot Topic January
Making an Impact When You Spend Money February
Marketing Savvy - Our Field's Blind Spot March
War and Volunteers: History Repeats Itself April
What We See, or Don't: Volunteers in Television, Films, and Novels May
Raising Money through Volunteer Labor June
Turning a Gift into a Powerful Tool: The Internet-related's Impact on the Volunteer Field July
One Step Further: Volunteer Services and Agency-wide Education August
Beyond Common Sense: Volunteer Management as a Specialty September
Universal Standards vs. Your Own Situation October
Educating Other Professions about Volunteers: Starting at the Source November
The Need for Institutional Memory December

2004

Economic Development, Internet Technology, and Volunteers January
Government, Politicians, and the Use of the Word "Volunteer" February
A Great New Report to Praise, Criticize, and Use March
Making Volunteer Management Happen: A Proposal for AmeriCorps April
Shaping Public Opinion: Volunteering, Government, and News Reports May
Does It Matter if Volunteers Work in a Nonprofit or a Government Setting? June
Should We Ask Volunteers to Give Money on Top of Time? July
Applied Futurism: Putting Trends to Work Today August
Workplace Volunteerism: Have We Thought this Through? September
Watching, Helping and Learning from China October
Interns: The "Acceptable" Volunteers? November
Chicken or Egg: Why Are Our Professional Associations Weak? December

2005

Keeping an Eye on Things in the Year Ahead January
Why Can't We Make Progress on Public Perceptions about Volunteering? February
Recruitment Maxims March
We Can Model True Collaboration April
Why Be Boring When You Can Celebrate in So Many Ways? May
Mobile Volunteers -"Tis the Season" June
Save a Life, Win a Car! When Do Incentives to Volunteer Cross the Line? July
Still Tilting at Windmills August
The Silver Lining of Disaster September
Volunteers Just Want to Have Fun October
Strength in Numbers: Engaging Volunteers as Partners in Program Development November
Charity Burnout? How to Cope with the Impact of Mother Nature in 2005 December

2006

The Implications of History January
The Fair Labor Standards Act and Other Obstacles to Progress February
A Call to Action on Behalf of Our Profession March
Why a New Association Should Serve the USA April
Online Spying Can Improve Your Volunteer Management Skills May
Wouldn't It Be Nice to Really Know June
"I Don't Have Time" July
Start Early: Teaching Students about Volunteering, Not Simply Doing It August
What's in a Name or a Title? September
The Middle Management Barrier October
Encouraging Entrepreneurial Volunteering November
Together We Stand: Volunteers and Volunteer Resource Managers Connected December

2007

Should Volunteer Program Managers Be Volunteers, Too? January
Voluntourism - Pros, Cons, and Possibilities February
Marking a Special Birthday March
I'll Help with That, but Don't Ask Me to Lead It! April
Make New Friends But Keep the Old... May
Technology Acceleration: Grab Hold and Hang On June
The More We're Different, the More We're the Same July
The Big Merger: Many Unanswered Questions August
Volunteering We See but Don't Recognize September
The Moral Obligation of Volunteer Recruitment Promises October
Boards of Directors: Governing at a Distance? November
Helper Triage: Volunteer Management in Emergencies December

2008

So, What Do You Do? January
The Power of Difference February
California Governor "Pumps Up" Volunteering March
Volunteering Is Bigger than the Nonprofit Sector April
It's Volunteers and Money May
Is the Rising Cost of Gas a Crisis or an Opportunity for Volunteering? June
Volunteers Should Not Be Second-Class Taxpayers July
The Yin and Yang of China's Olympic Volunteers August
Replacing Volunteers with Paid Staff September
How Will the Economic Crisis Affect Volunteering? November
From Organizing Charity to Building Community December

2009

What's Ahead for 2009? January
"A New Era of Responsibility": An Open Letter to President Obama February
The Difference Between Needing and Wanting Volunteers March
Confidentiality and Other Objections to Volunteers April
The Role of Volunteer Resources Managers in the Serve America Act May
Days, Hours and Minutes of Service - Enough Is Enough June
The Drive towards "Highly-skilled" and "Pro Bono" Volunteering July
The Separation of Service-learning from Volunteering...and Does It Matter? August
Making Ongoing Volunteering Valued and Visible September
Taking the Client's Perspective in Designing Volunteer Roles October
Media Blitz vs. Media Noise: What Are We Trying to Accomplish? November
When the Ax Falls: Budget Cutting and Volunteers December

2010

Differentiating between Volunteering and Working for Pay January
Both Receiving and Giving February
AmeriCorps and Senior Corps Targeting Volunteer Management March
"You Get What You Pay For" April
The Self-Directed Volunteer May
Reimagining Service: Is Corporate HR Management What We See? June
The Correlation between Time Donors and Money Donors July
Limiting Volunteers through Insurance Requirements August
Online Information Overload -- and How to Cope September
Good Intentions Going Nowhere -- Again October
When Volunteers Resist Change November
The Word "Volunteer" Can Reveal, Conceal, or Confuse December

2011

The Choice of the Citizen: Pay Taxes, Do Without, or Volunteer January
Real Professions Have Strong Associations February
Exercise Your Volunteering Funny Bone March
Celebrate Collective Accomplishments, Not Volunteered Time April
Short Attention Spans versus Long-term Causes May
Is the Corporation for National and Community Service on the Right Track for Volunteerism? June
Needed: A Multi-level Approach to Credentialing Volunteer Management July
I'll Never Understand Why Executives Still Don't Understand August
Addressing Volunteerism Issues in the Blogosphere September
What Leaders of Volunteers Can DO to Gain Executive Attention October
Part-time Volunteer Management Means Equally Limited Volunteer Involvement November
My Personal "State of the World's Volunteering" Report December

2012

What Would the Perfect Volunteer-Involving Organization Look Like? January
Volunteering Is Inherently Political February
How Serving the Volunteer Field Has Changed after 35 Years -- Or Not? March
Common Sense and Volunteer Involvement April
Three Things Volunteer Managers Can Learn from the Social Media Revolution May
Why Do We Love Volunteer Satisfaction Surveys? June
Is Volunteering the Emperor's New Clothes? July
Let's Be Honest about Nonprofit Boards of Directors (or, Lessons to Be Learned from Penn State August
"Why?" Is More Powerful than #@#%! September
Practicing What We Preach: Volunteers Helping Us, Too October
The Perfect Volunteer Storm November
End-of-Year Reports Can Illuminate Volunteer Achievements December

2013

Should We Cap the Number of Hours a Volunteer May Serve Each Week? January
The Treasure Trove of Knowledge Philanthropists February
Why Social Media Is Not the Cure-All for Building Volunteer Engagement March
Revisiting the Seven Deadly Sins of Directing Volunteers April
Strategic Volunteer Management: Expanding Your Organization's Brain May
Stop Volunteers from Being Their Own Worst Enemies June
Breaking through the Glass Ceiling for Volunteers July
Volunteering and Employability: Cause or Effect? August
What Volunteer Resources Managers Can Teach Human Resources Managers September
Prospective Volunteers Are Closer than You Think October
Education through Celebration on InternationalVolunteer Managers Day November
Don't Let the History Made by Volunteers Fall through the Cracks of Time December

2014

Virtual Volunteering Revisited January
It’s Time to Discuss the Complex Relationship of Volunteering and Money February
Let’s Help People Help Each Other March
Working Together to Recognize Volunteers…and More April
Branding National Volunteer Week: Whose Week Is It Anyway? May
Volunteers and the Quest for Innovation June
I Really Want to Know: What’s Going on Out There? July
Identifying Who Is and Is Not a “Volunteer” August
Ten Time-Tested Volunteer Recruitment Tips that Still Work September
Whom Don’t We Ask to Volunteer? October
Pulling the Rug Out from Under Volunteer Involvement: Sudden Staff Changes November
What Did You and Volunteers Do Well this Year? December

2015

What I Learned about Online Resources for Volunteer Management (While Updating the New Energize, Inc. Web Site) January
Replace Current Volunteers or Redirect New Ones? February
Do Volunteers Want to “Talk Amongst Themselves”? March
If Google Can’t Find the People Who Lead Volunteers, No One Can April
Fighting against Ignorance: Picking up My Sword Yet Again May
Mixed Messages to Volunteers Whom We’ve Asked to Be Friendly June
Letting Volunteers into the Team’s Locker Room July
In the Middle: The Leader of Volunteers as Intermediary August
Pictures, Pictures, Pictures September
Keeping Former Volunteers as Our Long-term Friends October
Volunteers as Beta Testers November
See Superheroes for What They Really Are! December

2016

The Domino Effect of Setting Goals for Volunteer Involvement January
Do You Stick Your Neck Out When Advocating for Volunteers? February
Incorporate the Power of Live Web Calls into Volunteer Management March
Sending Volunteer Talent Down the Drain April
Political Campaigns: Epicenter of Volunteering May
The Division of Labor between Volunteer Centers and Volunteer-Involving Organizations June
Inform, and WOW, Everyone about Volunteers July
Clients Are a Talent Pool, Too August
The Limitations of Seeing Volunteers Only as Unpaid Staff September
Get the Most Support: Blending Money, Things, and People October
What Volunteer Recruiters Can Learn from #GivingTuesday November
When Things Look Dark, Volunteers Can Spark Lightning December

2017

Pride in the Volunteer Management Profession January
Don’t Forget Volunteers as Part of the Solution to 2017 Nonprofit Challenges February
Energize Turns 40! March
Continuous Learning Is Not Optional April
Find the Money for Priceless Conferencing June
The “Social Compact” and Voluntary Action Are the Foundation of Democracy — Even Today July
Three Great Days: Reflections after the Summit on Volunteer Engagement Leadership August
Are You in a Volunteer Management Silo? September
Leaders of Volunteers: Will You “Be the Voice ”for Our Profession? November
Letting Fear Prevent Volunteer Involvement is Too Risky December

2018

New Year’s Resolution for Executive Directors of Volunteer-Involving Organizations January
Is Volunteer Management Really a Profession? February
Happy Birthday to Energize’s Founder and a Volunteer Management Pioneer March
Don’t Just Recognize Volunteers, INVEST in Them…and Yourself April
Grow Volunteer-Staff Harmony: Plant New Seeds this Spring May
Bribing volunteers: Should we be incentivising people for their time? June
What Is the New National Alliance for Volunteer Engagement and What Will It Mean for Us? July
Leader or Liability: Are Leaders Sabotaging Volunteer Engagement? August
Good News: Today and Tomorrow for Energize, Inc. September
Leaders of Volunteers: Stop Being So Bloody Nice! October
Volunteers? Donors? Let’s Call Them All Supporters! November
Seeking Funder Support for Volunteer Engagement? Assess Your Approach! December

2019

How Volunteer Action in 2018 Can Focus Us for 2019 January
The Times They Are a Changin’—Even for Volunteers February
Remembering Susan J. Ellis March
Lessons Learned About Leading Volunteers From a Volunteering Working Mom April
Could Volunteers Replace Paid Staff? Have No Fear! May
Volunteering Trend Watch: What Can We Learn from Looking Back? June
S#%& Words We Need To Stop Saying: Words and Phrases to Erase from the Lexicon of Volunteer Management July
When "Just" a Volunteer is Better than a Paid Employee August
Revisiting Credentials and Certifications in Volunteer Engagement September
Fueling Volunteer Passion: Empowering Volunteers to Self-Motivate October
The Volunteer Engagement Cha-Cha December

2020

Re-Opening and Recovery: Volunteer Engagement Resources in a Coronavirus World January
Susan J. Ellis Foundation: Supporting the Volunteer Engagement Profession March
Supporting Volunteer Efforts During Coronavirus May
How Leaders Can Find Strength In Vulnerability June